Tag Archives: Shuso Hossen

Below is a link to my first rap performance in response to my Shuso Koan (see: http://artandzentoday.com/?p=4380 ). There are three pieces of information that might make my rap a bit more meaningful. The first is that, following Zen tradition, the Shuso Hossen ceremony started off with my teacher handing me a Shippei; a staff that is a symbol of a Zen master’s authority. I held the Shippei before the audience and spoke the following worlds:

“This is a 3 foot long black snake. A long time ago it had become a konpura flower on Mt Gudrakuta, and on Mt. Shorin it had become plum blossom. Sometimes it transforms into a dragon and swallows heaven and earth. Sometimes it transforms into a diamond sword with freedom to kill and give life. Right now, in accord with the order of my teacher, it lies in my hands. I feel like a mosquito trying to bite an iron bull. However, being assigned as head trainee, I have to fulfill my duties”.

Secondly, in a series of lectures leading up to the Shuso Hossen Ceremony, I explored the nature and function of Zen ritual. I spent a great deal of time in these lectures discussing an article entitled “Rituals” by Robert Sharf. The author suggests that it is useful to view rituals as a form of transubstantiation where the participants understand that many aspects of their ritual activities are a form of play and yet can be taken seriously. He says that just as a child who uses a stick to represent a horse when playing cowboys understands that the stick is not really a horse, ritual participants act “as if” certain things are true or real, while knowing that it is only “as if”. The most common example of this is the idea in communion that the wine offered by the priest is the blood of Christ. I suggested, in my lectures, that engaging in the “as ifness” of rituals can be a way of learning to remain engaged in everyday life while not being attached (i.e. in society by not of society). To see two earlier posts on “transubstantiation”, type that term in the Search Box on the right and hit “enter” on your computer.

The third item that might be helpful to look at before watching the video is a poem written by Jake Roshi several years ago and published on this site in an article titled “Poems and Images of Five Vista Zen Center Artists” (see: http://artandzentoday.com/?p=3541 ). The poem is not long but it is laid out in a visually interesting way and so you have to scroll down a bit to get to the video.

Last week’s post was the beginning of a series having to do with my Shuso Hossen Ceremony held on March 5th. Since the format of the Ceremony was a bit nontraditional, Jake Roshi wanted us to sit down and “process” the event. I brought a series of questions to the meeting that had been sent to me by Judy after the Ceremony. I used her questions as sort of a jumping off point for our conversation. I video taped my discussion with Roshi and the video below is one segment of our conversation, prompted by some of Judy’s questions. I will likely release more parts of our discussion in the future. Warning: this video will have more meaning for viewers who attended the Ceremony. To see earlier posts regarding my Shuso Hossen Ceremony, use the Search Categories to the right or type in “Shuso Hossen” in the Search Window.

Below is a link to a new video that was used in my Shuso Hossen Ceremony. It involves images of the Vista Zen Center and music produced by me and Central Florida’s favorite blues singer “Stoney” Stone. For more background on the ceremony, the video and Stoney, read below before watching.

About a month ago I published a post titled “Koan For Manoj’s Shuso Hossen” (http://artandzentoday.com/?p=4380). In that article I wrote:

In this ceremony a student offers his or her understanding of the Koan and fields questions from other students about the Koan to demonstrate their readiness to be considered a senior student. Usually, students are assigned to work on one of the traditional Koans that have been part of the training for Zen monks throughout the centuries in China and Japan. However, my teacher has decided to explore alternative Koans that speak more to Westerners living and practicing Zen in non-monastic circumstances.

The Ceremony was held on March 5, 1916 and many of my upcoming posts will either entail segments from the video recordings made that night or will be based on my experiences as a Shuso at the Vista Zen Center. The essence of my Shuso Koan (see below) had to do with how I would or could fulfill the Four Bodhisattva Vows as an artist. During the Ceremony I presented 5 different musical performances that I saw as answering my Koan. In addition to my presentations, about 15 other members of the Center also gave short performances displaying their understanding of Zen and their creative interests. So the Ceremony consisted of a full evening of poems, songs, stories, demonstrations and short talks etc.

Shuso Koan

I ended my portion of the evening by singing Sly Stone’s “I want to Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself Again” using altered lyrics that I hoped expressed my appreciation to my teacher and fellow students for providing a safe place to practice Zen.

A week after the Ceremony, my wife’s niece Elene and her boyfriend “Stoney” visited with us for a few days. They both are musicians and play together in various venues in central Florida. Stoney’s other band “Stoney and the Housebreakers” also play for events throughout Florida and have produced numerous CDs. Their album “Cruisin’ For A Bluesin’ ” was the recipient of the prestigious Central Florida “CD of The Year Award” in 2009 @ The Brevard Live Florida Music Awards.(See the band’s website: http://www.stoney3.com/ )

Elene and Stoney

Anyway, soon after our visitors arrived, I had Stoney in my studio singing the altered lyrics to the Sly Stone classic. The short video below incorporates the recording Stoney and I produced and is accompanied by images compiled for the Shuso Hossen Ceremony to display the talents and dedication of the members of the Vista Zen Center.